When I was in high school I may not have been as observant as I am now but it seemed teachers were a bit more chaste.
Credit: George Mathis
Credit: George Mathis
In Houston, a teacher impregnated by a 13-year-old student has surrendered to police.
Alexandria Vera, 24, a middle school English teacher has admitted having a sexual relationship with the student. She is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child and surrendered Wednesday . She was released after posting a $100,000 bond.
According to court documents the relationship began last summer when the boy was her summer school student. Reports say the boy wanted to see her photos on Instagram and sent her a message. He later asked for her phone number and called her to hang out.
In September, Vera drove to the boys home and drove him around and they kissed. The next day she visited the home while his parents were away and had sex.
She met the parents at a school open house in October and later visited their home and was introduced as the boy's girlfriend and invited to future family gatherings, she said.
Vera told police the boy's parents approved the relationship and would let him spend the night at her home. She would drop the boy off at his parents' home the next morning so he could catch the bus to school.
Vera told police she got pregnant with the student's baby in January and the boy's parents were supportive and "excited." She told police she and the boy love each other.
Credit: George Mathis
Credit: George Mathis
After social workers visited the school and began asking questions about her relationship with the boy she had an abortion, Vera told an investigator.
A forensic examination of the teacher's phone verified her claims, police said.
Neighbors said Vera, who has a 4-year-old daughter, would frequently have multiple boys over at her house and introduced her boyfriend as her brother.
Reports say Vera's father, a former police officer, was suspended multiple times for allegations including sexual harassment. He was eventually fired for paying a mechanic to fake auto inspection results, writes the Texas Observer.
The boy's parents are being investigated by child protective services for allegedly approving the relationship.
It is never good when teachers have sexual relationships with students, but it seems to be a growing trend.
In Gwinnett County, four teachers were recently arrested for sexual relationships with students.
Is it happening more often? Or perhaps cell phones make it easier for police to obtain evidence a crime has occurred?
Maybe this is the result of social media making it easier for students and teachers to interact?
The Washington Post says social media has provided an "open gateway" for classroom sexual predators.
The solution? We can't control adults, but maybe parents could take phones away from children?
Sounds simple, but adults -- even teachers -- are less capable now of telling children no.
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